Trying to Survive the Big House? Christian Religious Organizations as Third Party Unobtrusive Control

• In Event: Scholar to Scholar V

Abstract

This piece explores the existence of third-party unobtrusive control whereby Christian religious organizations (CROs) advance a system of unobtrusive control within prison organizations. CROs purport the same values as prison organizations: know right from wrong, choose the right way, punish immoral acts, and follow the rules. These values that CROs instill in future inmates aid prisons in developing a system of unobtrusive control as they help change inmate’s enthymeme1 and encourage the acceptance of enthymeme2.

Author

• Brittany Peterson, University of Texas, Austin